Hyderabad: High Court relief for IAS officer Smita Sabharwal

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday granted relief to senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal in connection with the Kaleshwaram project inquiry.

The court directed that no action be taken based on the report submitted by Justice Pinaki Ghosh Commission. The matter is being heard by a bench headed by the Chief Justice along with other pending petitions on the project.

Sabharwal had filed a petition in the High Court seeking removal of her name from the commission’s report. The commission, which examined the execution of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, had faulted her tenure as principal secretary to the chief minister during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government.

In her petition, Sabharwal said she had no role in the construction of the three barrages under the project. She stated that her involvement was limited to processing files sent for the chief minister’s approval and pointing out procedural errors wherever necessary.

After hearing the arguments, the High Court ordered that no action should be taken against her on the basis of the commission’s findings.